Grab and go Tac vest for Ak-47 and Glock

Title says it all. I am looking to the best tactical vest that will accommodate ak-47 mags, a glock 21 and some mags and various other supplies. Also any input on what a good vest should be equipped with would be nice.

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t_durden

June 17, 2009, 03:07 PM

go MOLLE

psyopspec

June 17, 2009, 03:23 PM

What's the vest going to be used for? After you grab it, what are you going to or from? I could give you the basic picture of what one would look like in Afghanistan or Iraq, but your location suggests you're not in a war zone.

okespe04

June 17, 2009, 03:45 PM

What's the vest going to be used for? After you grab it, what are you going to or from? I could give you the basic picture of what one would look like in Afghanistan or Iraq, but your location suggests you're not in a war zone.

This would be a shtf vest so hopefully It will sit in my safe an collect dust till the day I die and my children can hopefully do the same with it. In a shtf situation my family and I plan to hold up in a fairy remote area of the Oregon coast where we have shelter and we all know the land very well. Deer, small game, clams, muscles etc. Of course this is all hypothetical but the idea is to make it there safely. I live about 90 miles from the location. We have 100s of pounds of nitrogen sealed grain and some weapons and munitions at the location on the coast. We are also well prepared to stay put but we would rather get out of the city.

psyopspec

June 17, 2009, 03:58 PM

Okay, so you're bugging out to a predetermined location. For the vest itself, there's a variety of types available. If you want to save money you can go used on ebay. MOLLE as mentioned above is a good suggestion for versatility. As a general rule, avoid China-made knockoffs, and there is a lot of good stuff out there. If you have a police/milsurp store nearby go there so you can try on before buying. If you plan on driving, remember not to mount anything on the back, as it'll be inaccessible and really uncomfortable while belted in a vehicle.

My suggestions for adornements:

-First aid pouch
-Camel-bak compatible.
-Pouch for two AK mags. A lot of people might recommend more, but I really don't think it's necessary on the way to a bugout location, and if it is you're in a lot of trouble. One in the gun, one backup, and one spare should be plenty. Depends, of course, on the given emergency, and I would of course recommend having more mags/ammo within reach and/or at your destination.
-The best idea I can recommend if you want the pistol on the vest is to get a SERPA with MOLLE mounts. Another option is to get a drop-leg holster leaving more room on the vest. Plenty of threads if you search about the pros and cons of a thigh holster. Advantage to a vest holster is that you have immediate awareness of weapon retention at all times and it's easy to draw when seated.
-Motorola radio or GPS.
-Flashlight.
-One or two pistol mags.
-Protective eyewear - you don't need to be in a firefight for it to come in handy; just walk through thick woods at night and it's great to have.
-I usually find a pouch to stick some trail mix or a cliff bar in for snacking.

ETA: My response is contingent upon there not being .gov checkpoints that will merrily snatch all your weapons and gear away when you try to go through them.

okespe04

June 17, 2009, 04:50 PM

Okay, I will start looking into MOLLE. As far as ammo I would have to agree. There is a very good chance I may end up on foot and the weight of too much ammo would be a real burden, and ideally I would not have to use any of it anyways. The only thing I would add/change is I would replace the GPS with a compass. I know the area very well and I would add a knife, some iodine tabs, and a source of flame in case I had to hole up for a while along the way.

Thanks for the input.

Shadow Man

June 17, 2009, 05:57 PM

Personally, I would avoid a vest. Vests have TONS of available room and configurations available for them, and the more options you have, the more confused you can become, and the more room you have available, the more likely you are to fill that room with heavy, possibly unneeded gear. Try a chest rig: much lighter and smaller, comes in the MOLLE pattern for adaptability, does not interfere with packs or other equipment on your back, much less expensive, and quite a simple platform. Easily fixed if it should ever need maintenaince. If you are dead-set on a vest, go for it, but if not, give chest rigs a hard look.
Just my $0.02

armoredman

June 17, 2009, 06:34 PM

Thia was what we HAD set up,

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/AK3.jpg

Bulky, heavy, holds a bunch of stuff, crossdraw chest mount for pistol, couldn't figure out what to put in all the pockets, sold it here.

This is what I have now.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b13/armoredman/chestpouch2.jpg

This holds 8 30 round VZ mags, and two spare pistol mags. The load could be changed to one pouch with ammo, and the others with various gear. Chest pouch is from Blackhawk, and comfortable.

possum

June 17, 2009, 06:59 PM

do you want a plate carrier, or just a chest rig? my bug out rig is a woosatch with my plates, and ar mags, pistol mags, blow out kit, camel back.

look into some of the chest rigs that are avaliable at www.skdtac.com they have some small simple rigs made by eagle, on in particular is set up for ak mags.

also check out www.optactical.com

ZombiesAhead

June 21, 2009, 05:18 PM

armoredman - your first rig looks like a Leaper's brand vest. Just a heads up if so - these are more sold for the Airsoft crowd despite some websites that suggest they could be used for more serious situations. I picked one up off of CTD for about $35 and quickly had a magazine pouch tear right through the bottom. I was sent a replacement but I never touch this thing anymore. I now have a much simpler and much better military issue load-bearing vest with 2 double AR mag pockets, 2 single AR mag pockets, 2 grenade pockets, and MOLLE webbing on the back.

Stay away from Leaper's anything for serious use.

Dimis

June 21, 2009, 05:47 PM

www.blackhawk.com

nuff said

benEzra

June 21, 2009, 09:19 PM

If you are driving to the location, it may be more adviseable to dress lower-profile and have the gear in a lower-profile bag that you can put between the seats or whatever. Driving 90 miles while wearing a tac-vest or chest rig is a very good way to NOT blend in; you might as well wear a big "Follow Me and See Where I Keep the Rest of My Stuff" sign. And if you're not wearing it in the vehicle, then your stuff will be more accessible from a well organized bag than from a vest or chest rig folded up on the floor.

Here's one option, from OST:

http://www.onesourcetactical.com/ProductImages/sneakybags6.jpg

It is designed to be carried comfortably over the shoulder (strap goes to opposite shoulder for no-hands security, of course), includes mag pouches and a dump pouch, and I believe it can be configured with internal pistol holster/mag pouches, etc. (if not that one then other ones definitely can).

More options here, including some discreet rifle cases:
http://www.onesourcetactical.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=241

In a Katrina type event, bringing unwanted attention down on yourself, whether it be from criminals or out-of-town authorities, can be a big negative.

In my opinion, chest rigs and tac-vests are great if you need a way to carry your stuff around in isolated areas or on your own property (assuming high vs. low profile isn't an issue), but for an emergency evacuation I think the low-profile choices have a lot of advantages.

John Parker

June 21, 2009, 10:52 PM

but for an emergency evacuation I think the low-profile choices have a lot of advantages.

I've generally felt this way too. Looking like a target can make you a target, but the intimidation of big guns and lots of armor is a nice factor too sometimes. I almost always felt safer driving in an unarmored Corolla than in an armored Suburban with lights and sirens while overseas.
I've had great results with the SKD-Tac version of the Eagle Universal Chest Rig. I'd wear a plate carrier covered by a big, loose linen shirt, then the UCR, then the fisherman's vest that the Afghans are so fond of over that. Worked like a charm.

HorseSoldier

June 22, 2009, 01:37 AM

What's your budget? You can pick some deal up from Cheaper Than Dirt or Sportsman Guide fresh from the sweat shops of China for twenty bucks or something that will work well enough as long as the stitches hold -- whether that actually gets you from point A to point B in your bug-out scenario is an open question. The higher end you go, the more rugged and better made you get, though there is a certain paying for paying for the name factor if you go expensive enough.

Personally, for a bug out kit I'd look at the Go Bag sort of stuff like benezra suggested, for the reasons he suggested. You can get them from various sources (Suarez International and LaRue both do them, off the top of my head, though I know they're not the only guys out there), and they've got room for a smallish basic load of ammo plus some other essentials.

If you go with a vest/chest rig, I'd also +1 the MOLLE/PALS compatible option. The mil-surp communist load bearing stuff out there is usually pretty durable, but it's mostly set up for carrying AK ammo and a couple grenades. Most of your dedicated AK vests made by companies here in the US are also geared towards a more ammo heavy, infantryman sort of approach than a bug out rig calls for. With the MOLLE compatible stuff you can set up your load bearing gear to optimize it for a light/fast ammo+survival essentials kind of rig.

The only downside with that approach, and it is not a show stopper, is that the AK means you've got a whole lot less options for magazine pouches than if you were using AR magazines, though most companies have an AK mag pouch in their catalog these days alongside the nine thousand ways to carry AR magazines they make, so you've at least got some choices.

armoredman

June 22, 2009, 02:07 AM

ZombiesAhead, it was actually pretty well made, but just not what I wanted at all. The chest rig is for emergencies, of course, highly unlikely I'll ever need it, nice to have. That discreet rifle case is nice, saw a new one that looks like an over the shoulder fanny pack meant for folding stock subguns, wild. VZ58 has fixed stock, stuck with my Midway assault rifle case, no disguising that one!

ZombiesAhead

June 22, 2009, 07:07 PM

Just wanted to post some evidence of Leaper's quality. It really is air-soft-level. Also, because many of the pouches are sewn on; when one breaks, the whole vest is done for.They do replace things promptly. Next to the Leaper's is a recent, military-issue LBV. I have actually salvaged a few bits of Leaper's gear (MOLLE pistol holster, duty belt, thigh MOLLE platform) to use with the military vest. Sadly, this only fits AR mags. I'd like to find a decent-priced AK-mag vest also.

Fred Fuller

June 22, 2009, 08:16 PM

OK, since this is a 'what' question and not a 'how to/when to' question as would be more suited to S&T, we're going to give the FA folks a shot at it now.

lpl

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